National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1337
To whom it may concern,
Hello, my name is . I live in Victoria, and some would say I am in the prime of my life at 28. I was privileged enough to join the NDIS last year after battling with multiple chronic illnesses and neurodiversity my whole life that until 2023 went entirely unnoticed, unsupported and untreated. I’ve made attempts on my life, hurt myself in more ways than I can count on 2 hands and wondered ceaselessly why I seemed to be broken in a way that everyone around me wasn’t. Turns out I had Autism L2 and ADHD, and this world is not made for people like me. Thankfully, we have a wonderful system in place, the NDIS, to help support people with their struggles. My life has changed 180° since joining the NDIS. I have an OT worker, a care team and people who genuinely want to see me thrive and live my happiest life.
The NDIS is a lifeline for helping me develop the skills I never developed as a child, I’m learning to cook, keep a house, emotional regulation and independence and maybe even getting a job in the future! The proposed cuts to the NDIS fill me with a lot of fear, I fear that I will be left without treatment, cut from the NDIS under the proposed changes. I am afraid my partner will no longer be able to work, and will have to become my full-time carer again, as she has just started to work again. We have lost $40000 worth of savings in medical and cost of living expenses over the last 4 years and will be bankrupt in a year if she cannot work. I am deeply afraid that we will be left stuck without a home because of the lack of income. The changes haven’t been clearly explained, not through the media or the NDIS, and the community has been uncomfortable and unsure.
I fear that losing my supports will mean my already limited community engagement will reduce to nothing. The only times I engage in the community is with my OT and hopefully with more work, a support worker in the future. I have goals to join a community garden or horticultural society, but I’m still working through my difficulties, something I would not be able to do without my NDIS supports. These capacity building supports have been LIFE CHANGING!! Before I rarely left my house, couldn’t attend appointments alone, do groceries alone, shower independently and many other things most people take for granted. For me, these capacity building supports have changed my life. I’ve never been so independent, and while I still have a LOT of trouble, I’m immensely proud of the progress I’ve made.
Regarding the proposed changes to how the NDIA regards permanence and trying all available treatments., I feel this change disadvantages those who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. I came from a poor family, some days my parents struggled to put meals on the table and as such, we couldn’t afford to try lots of treatments for my chronic pain condition like Physiotherapy and laser therapy treatments. After my parents divorced and my mum was a single
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1337
parent to two sick and neurodivergent children, the ability to pay for treatments became even less possible. The NDIS has made my treatments possible. Without it, I could not afford the $200 a fortnight OT sessions, the $250 a fortnight Psychology appointments, never ending medication costs, physical therapy and more.
I hope that someone reads this, and hears my plea and the pleas of the other people fighting for the NDIS, and it isn’t just lost under the piles of bureaucracy. I’m trying to build a little life for myself in a world that isn’t made for me, and the NDIS is the most invaluable tool for this. Please try to find it in your hearts to find the budget elsewhere, like a gas export tax or something I don’t know, I’m not a lawmaker!
Thank you for your time.